Lebanon has proposed the first direct talks with Israel in decades. It might be too late
BEIRUT, March 17, 2026 (AP) — With airstrikes rocking Beirut and Israeli troops advancing against Hezbollah, Lebanon’s government has broken a taboo by proposing the first direct talks with Israel in decades. But Lebanese officials say they want the fighting to end first — and it might be too late for that. Hezbollah’s decision to enter the wider Iran war by firing rockets at Israel has led to the heavy Israeli bombardment of southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, killing some 850 Lebanese and driving over a million people from their homes. The Iran-backed Hezbollah views the latest war as